Israeli Vote on Fence Placement
May Strain Relations With U.S.

JERUSALEM -- Israel's government voted to build the next phase of its security fence deep inside the West Bank, a move that is likely to irk the U.S. and further test the tattered "road map" to peace.

Israeli officials said the route approved by ministers Wednesday will snake around five big clusters of Jewish settlements in occupied territory, enclosing as many as 60,000 West Bank Palestinians on the Israeli side of the fence. Observers said the government vote is a blow to the Bush administration, which had...